Device for burning crude oil in stoves and furnaces



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

J. F. IRONS.

DEVICE FOR BURNING CRUDE 01L IN STOVES AND FURNACES. No. 266,478.

Im/mnn M NY PETERS, Phmwhlhographer. Wnmugiun. n. c.

(No Model.) -3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. P. IRONS.

DBVIGE FOR BURNING-CRUDE OIL INSTOVES AND FURNACES. No. 266,478. nted 001324, 1882.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. F.IRONS.

DEVICE FOR BURNING CRUDE OIL IN STOVES AND FURNACES;

No.266,4'78. Patented 001;. 2.4, 1882.

iVz'Zfnessw; 2276122224 I UNITE STATES M ATENT Tricia.

JOSEPH F. IRONS, OF BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVICE FOFI BURNING CRUDE OIL IN STOVES AND FURNACES.

, SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 266,478, dated October 24, 1882,

Application filed July 3, 1882. (No model.)

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosEPH F. IRoNs, a eitizen of the United States, residing at Bradford, county of McKean, State of Pennsylva nia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Burning Hydrocarbon Oil in its Crude State, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to hydrocarbon-furnaces. It is a well-known fact that crude petroleum contains many heavy hydrocarbonssuch as parafflne and dead oil-which will not burn under the ordinary conditions for burning the lighter ones, such as kerosene, gasoline, and naphtha. Many ways have been tried for accomplishing this result, but with indifferent success, as the heavier hydrocarbons clog up the passage and prevent the oil from flowing. Burners having means for mingling the crude oil with air, with steam and air, and with steam have been used; but these soon get out of order, as the heavier hydrocarbons, it present in large quantities, as is usually the case, soon incrust the head of the burner and prevent the oil from flowing in sufflcient quantities to produce a serviceable flame. To obviate these defects a burner formed like aspiral scroll, with apex pointing downward, and provided upon its upper surface with a groove down which the oil flows to the apex, was devised. In practice it has been found that this burner is defective, for the reason that sufficient air could not reach the oil to produce perfect combustion. Great quantities of soot were deposited upon the plate and dammed the grooves, causing the oil to overflow and run over the sides and into the cup at the apex. The air which passed between the interstices of the spiral scroll was not heated to a sufficient degree to take up the heavier hydrocarbons, which were therefore deposited as soot. The soot accumulating in the cone soon filled up the interstices and interfered with the proper combustion of the oil in the base of the spiral to such an extent that frequent cleaning became a necessity. This cleaning interfered materially with the work to which the burner was applied.

The object of my invention is to obviate these defects, and to accomplish that object I proposeto dispense with a spiral scroll and substitute therefor a flat plate haviuga groove upon its upper surface. The groove preferably may be slightly inclined from the oil-feeding point to its terminus; or it may be upon the same plane from end to end. To supply a suflicient quantity of air I provide deflectorplates, which, with the burneuplates, form airpassages through which the air is drawn and impinged against each side of the base of the flame and the surface of the oil, all as will hereinafter morefully appear.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a top plan view with deflectordate E removed; Fig. 2, a similar view with deflectorplate in place; Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section; Fig. 4, a perspective view of the devii-e with deflector-plate removed; Fig. 5, a plan view of an oval burner with deflector-plate at one side; Fig. 6, a vertical transverse section; Fig. 7, a' bottom plan view of the deflector, and Fig. 8 a plan view ofia modified form of burner-plate.

A represents the box, formed with an open side or front, A for the purpose of admitting air to the burner. In the upper side of the box is an opening, A. lVithin the box is sus pended by any suitable means a burner-plate, B, which is provided with a shallow groove, 0. This groove is higher at one end than at the other, and slightly inclined between those points, so that crude oil admitted at the upper end will move slowlydown the groove toits lower end. The upper end of the groove is provided with an aperture through which the oil escapes from the supply-pipe N. Thispipe extends from the burner-plate to a point near the bottom of the box, from which it is bentupwardly and outwardly, so that any drip, overflow, or seepage on the pipe will run into the box. A cock for regulating the supply ofoil is placed at any suitable point. In th s pipe there is also an opening, a, through which oilis constantly flowing. The oil escaping through this opening is kept burning, so that the wasteoil which passes to the box A will be ignited and consumed. Above the burner-plate is an air-deflector, E, which rest s upon the top of the box. The form of this deflector isimmaterial, but should be of such shape as to have an opening or openings above the groove or grooves for the flame to pass through, and be elevated farenough above the burner-plate toallow a current of air to pass between said plate and deflector for the purpose of impinging a current of air against the base of the flame.

I am aware that it is common in lamps to use a deflectordate above the burner for the purpose of forcing a current of air against the base of the flame from a burning wick, and

to that I make no claim; but I'am not aware.

that crude oil has ever been burned in a groove in a burner-plate suspended within a box, and having its upper ends projecting into the opening A, with a deflector supported upon the top of the box in such a manner that the air mteringthe box will be deflected against each side of the base of the flame and upon the surface of the oil. This produces an obvious advantage in that the air passing below the deflector will become heated, and will impinge against the surface of the oil and vaporize the heavier hydrocarbonates, which otherwise would remain in the groove and stop the flow of oil. I do not limit myself to any particular form of groove, as it is evident that the plate may be formed with grooves representing many well-known figures. In all such cases, however, I propose to slot the burner-plate in such a manner that each side of the groove will receive a supply of air. 'This will be accomplished by placing a deflector-plate over the slots. This additional deflector-plate may be formed with plate E; or it maybe supported above the slot in any suitable manner. The deflector-plate. is preferably made removable, so that the burner-plate may be exposed for the purpose of removing any foreign substance that may haye settled thereon.

Having now described myinvention so far as it is applicable to all the forms of devices, I propose to particularly describe the different devices shown in the drawings. In'showing these I do not proposeto limit myselfto their exact construction, as it is obvious that many changes could be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, theinclined burner-plate B is shown supported from the box A, and is provided with a supply-opening, S, at its upper end, and a small exit-opening, e, at its lower end for the surplus oil to pass throughand escape beneath plate B. To prevent the oil accumulating at one end of the box, I provide an inclined trough, H, which receives the oil escaping through opening a and conveys it to a point near the center of the box or to a point near the opening n,which, as before stated, serves as a burner to light the waste oil and assist in vaporizing the heavier hydrocarbonates on plate B. Plate B is placed in the box in such a manner that its upper edges will be above the lower edge of the walls of opening A, so that the deflectorplate E, which rests upon the top of the box, will be just above the upper side of the burnerplate. The object of this is to provide a very narrow slit between the burner-plate and the deflector-plate, so that a sheet of air can be projected against the base of the flame and upon the surface of the oil. The air is drawn in through the open side of the box and passes around plate B to passages D.

It is obvious that it is not necessary to suspend the bnrner-plate in the manner shown,.

as the object is to get the deflector-plate near the burner, so that a thin sheet of air will be impinged against the base of the flame and the surface of the oil. If desired, the deflectorplate may have its upper side inclined toward the slot where the flame passes through, to give the latter a chance to expand without having to pass through a long tube-like slot.

Referring to Figs. 5, 6, and 7, these figures represent an oval burner-plate, B, having a central aperture, B, and groove 0, and a deflector-plate, E, provided with an oval slot, E, which registers with and is just above the groove in the burner-plate. This plate is supported from the box by any suitable means, and the upper side is nearly on the same plane as the top of the box A. About midway of the front side of the plate,and at right angles to the longitudinal edges, isapartition, c,which divides the groove into two parts. The righthand side of the groove, near the partition, is a little higher than that part on the left-hand side of the partition, so that the intermediate part of the groove, following the circuit from right to left, may be more or less inclined, so that the oil entering theinlet S will flow more rapidly in the groove. If desired, a'small aperture such as shown at 1), Figs. 1 and 4, and the inclined trough H, Figs. 3 and 4, may be used; but I prefer to dispense with them when the bnrneris of an oval or circular shape. Instead of having a partition, 0, the plate may be elevated at that point and the groove inclined downwardly on both sides from the oilinlet S to a point upon the opposite side. The groove is preferably of a uniform depth, and to accomplish this it will be necessary to gradually depress the top of theplate, so that the walls of the groove will be of uniform height from the bottom of the groove. If desired, the bottom of the groove may be upon the same plane; but I prefer the way above described. The deflector-plate E is oval-shaped, and is provided with a rabbet, e, which fits over the top of box A. In the middle is an oval plate, E which is attached to oval plate E in any suitable manner, and forms, with the latter, the opening E, which registers with groove 0. It preferred, plate E may be supported independently of plate E, as its sole object is to deflect the air rising through aperture B into the groove 0. Between'the plates E and E and burner-plate B are air-passages D and D. These passages terminate over groove 0. The under side of the plates may be flat; but I prefer to curve them, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the passages will decrease in size as they approach the groove. The top end of the curve should be deflected slightly downward over too the groove, so that the air will be deflected upon the surface of the oil. This feature, however, I propose to make the subject of another application, and therefore make no claim to it in this. When the burner-plate is provided with partitions c and the plate depressed so as to give the groove an inclination the under side of the plate E should be correspondingly depressed, so that the air-passages between the deflector and burner-plates will be of a uni form size. It is obvious that this form is a mere variation from a true circle, and as I propose to use either form I do not wish it understood that I limit myself to the form shown.

Fig. 8 represents a plan view of a burnerplate having the groove winding from one side of the plate to the other, and apertures B between the parallel parts of the groove. The oil-inlet pipe S is located near the center of the bend in the middle line of the plate; but it is obvious that it maybe placed at any other point, or that more than one inlet may be used. The deflector-plate is not shown in this view, as it is an obvious matter when taken in connection with the devices shown in the other figures. Many otherforms may be constructed, such as laying plates with grooves, like that shown in Fig. 1 in parallel lines, and providing suitable deflectonplates.

The small aperture or exit t1 may be placed at the end of each of the plates, and the trough H used in all the devices without departing from my invention.

What claim as new is 1. In a device for burning crude oil, the combination, with a burner-plate having a groove for containing the oil to be burned, of a deflector-plate located above and provided with an opening of less width than and registering with the groove for the flame to pass through,

and air-passages between the deflector and burner plates, substantially as described.

2. In a device for burning crude oil, the combination, with a burner-plate having a groove for containing the oil to be burned, of a deflector-plate located above and provided with an opening of less width than and registering with the groove for the flame to pass through, and gradually-decreasing air-passages between the burner and deflector plates, substantially as described.

3. In a device for burning crude petroleum, the combination, with a burner-plate having an oval groove for containing the oil to be burned, and a central opening, of a deflectorplate located above and overlapping each side of the groove, and air-passages between the deflector and burner plates, substantially as described.

4. In a device for burning crude petroleum, a burner-plate having a groove inclined from the inlet-opening to the lower end, which is provided with an exit-opening smaller than the inlet, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a device for burning crude petroleum, the combination, with a plate having a groove provided with an inlet-opening at one end and an outlet-opening at the other, of a trough, H, placed obliquely below the plate and having its upper end beneath the outlet-opening, for the purpose set forth.

6. In a device for burning petroleum, the combination, with the fire-box, of a burnerplate, and an inclined supply-pipe connected to the burner-plate and having an opening, a, for the purpose set forth.

JOSEPH F. IRONS.

Witnesses:

II. M. RICHMOND, A. B. RICHMOND. 

